The creator of the Heimlich maneuver for choking victims Dr Henry Heimlich has died aged 96.
The surgeon who created the life-saving technique to stop people from choking died in Cincinnati on Saturday.
His son, Phil, said he died at Christ Hospital after suffering a heart attack earlier in the week.
"My father was a great man who saved many lives," said Phil, an attorney and former Hamilton County commissioner.
He added: "He will be missed not only by his family but by all of humanity."
His father was director of surgery at Jewish Hospital in Cincinnati in 1974 when he devised the treatment for choking victims that made his name a household word.
Rescuers using the procedure abruptly squeeze a victim's abdomen, pushing in and above the navel with the fist to create a flow of air from the lungs.
That flow of air then can push objects out of the windpipe and prevent suffocation.
Much of Dr Heimlich's 2014 autobiography focuses on the maneuver, which involves thrusts to the abdomen that apply upward pressure on the diaphragm to create an air flow that forces food or other objects out of the windpipe.
The maneuver was adopted by public health authorities, airlines and restaurant associations, and Dr Heimlich appeared on shows including the "The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson" and "The Today Show."
Dr Heimlich's wife Jane, daughter of the late dance teacher Arthur Murray, died in November 2012.
He is survived by two sons and two daughters.
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